Legislative Advocacy & SB63By: Jackson Blackwell

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Who am I?✓ For those of you who I haven’t had the chance to talk with

yet my name is Jackson Blackwell – I am a Senior at Soldotna High School – I am involved in activities including: Student Council (Class

President), United Youth Court of Alaska, Governor Walker’s Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Commission, Coalition for Juvenile Justice, Alaska Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) Student Ambassador, Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU), City Council (as the Student Representative), Soldotna Chamber of Commerce (as the Student Representative), Senator Murkowski’s 2016 Campaign, Local, State and Federal Legislative Advocacy, and I love to explore Alaska and Fish!

– I am here at this conference to teach and to encourage you all to become involved in Legislative Advocacy so you can be a voice in decisions that are being made.

What is Advocacy?❑Advocacy is the practice of educating people on an issue you feel that is important ❑Advocating vs. lobbying

❑Lobbying is not something that you can do while on State Dollar ❑However, when we you are on your free time or are not funded through state dollars feel free to make your opinions known and ask your legislators to support SB63

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Why get involved?✓ YOU can affect Alaska’s future

✓ YOU can make Alaska a safer, healthier, and happier place to live

✓ Legislators listen to students

✓ You have the power to influence legislation that will directly effect Alaska down the road

✓ Tobacco prevention and control matters

✓ When we do our part to educate others on tobacco and its dangers we are essentially helping to save lives

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Why Get Involved?

✓ Here is a video that was produced to highlight the tobacco prevention and control measures in Alaska. Its a general introduction to tobacco and the continuation of the State’s goal to eradicate it’s use.

✓ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSXwrBOjmAE

Looking at the Bigger PictureWhat is Senate Bill 63?❑Senate Bill 63, also known as the “Take it outside Act”, will implement smoke free workplaces in Alaska ❑Senate Bill 63 would make the unincorporated cities/villages smoke free too. ❑Senate Bill 63 was introduced by Senator Peter Micciche (R-Soldotna) and has been passed on the Senate Floor by a 15-5 vote. ❑Senate Bill 63 is currently in the House and just had a hearing in the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee. ❑Senate Bill 63 would include cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana as not being allowed to smoke indoors

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Senate Bill 63 Con.

✓ Senate Bill 63 would be a cost saving measure – It would provide for $500,000 in savings over 5 years to

direct medicaid expenses – It would save $5,000,000 by increasing production in the

work field • Less sick days, fatalities, etc.

✓ This bill saves money, lives, and makes Alaska a happier place for all! So why not do it?

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Why do we need SB63?

Current Smoke-Free Communities

Haines Skagway

Anchorage

Palmer

Barrow

Bethel

Unalaska

Juneau

Sitka

Petersburg

Klawock

Nome

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How can I advocate for SB63?❑Sign a supporter card and send it to your State Legislators ❑Ask local businesses to sign a resolution of support ❑Volunteer to attend a public event and tell others why to support smoke-free workplaces ❑Call your State Representative and/or Senator and encourage them to support smoke-free workplaces ❑Testify at your LIO or send in written comments ❑SOCIAL MEDIA!

❑Take a picture of yourself and post it to social media ❑Follow smokefreealaska on Facebook and Twitter

Source: smokefreealaska.com

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“One letter (in regards to legislation) from a student is 10 times more powerful than that of an adult.”

-Senator Peter Micciche, ATCA Youth Summit 2015

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What else Can I do to get involved?

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The U.S. Senate Page Program

✓ The U.S. Senate Page Program is a program that allows 30, 16 or 17 year olds per semester to witness history 1st hand

✓ To be a Page you must be sponsored by a U.S. Senator

✓ If selected you would move to Washington, D.C. for 5 months and live, work, and go to school.

✓ Many former Pages go on to have very successful lives because of the skills they learned while Paging

– Bill Gates, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), and many other Governors and Congressman were former Pages

✓ It opens many doors and … you get paid!

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The U.S. Senate Page Program

✓ Work

– While serving as a Page your “office” is the Senate floor and the Capitol

– During the day you run errands for Senators and have access that very few people have

– Some days you may pull all-nighters with Senators while they are deliberating legislation on the floor

– Senators value Pages and talk with them frequently

– Really cool and famous people frequent the Capitol and you get to meet them

•While I was a Page I got to meet and see the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Pope, John Stewart, the King of Jordan, Presidential Candidates, among many others!

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U.S. Senate Page Program

✓ School

– While serving as a Page you attend the U.S. Senate Page School and learn from highly qualified teachers!

– They work with you to make sure you are ahead when you return to your home school!

– You get to go on cool field trips!

•We got a behind the scenes tour of the Nat’l Archives, the White House, Liberty Hall, and the Smithsonian! We also got to do fun activities too! We went to the Army/Navy football game, Gettysburg, and Hockey and Basketball games!

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✓ If any of you are interested in the Page Program please please reach out! Alaska has a good reputation of having awesome Pages. Senator Murkowski loves selecting Pages from all over the state. She has had Pages from, Anchorage, Juneau, Soldotna, Bettles Field, Fairbanks, Nome, Cordova, Valdez and many more! You could be the next!

✓ The Page Program opened my eyes to all that our country has to offer and how important it is to be involved in the Legislative Process!

U.S. Senate Page Program

ACS CAN Lobby Day

✓ The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network holds lobby days every February in Juneau to lobby for important Cancer Society related issues.

✓ I attended this event this past February and was amazed by the amazing people and all the stories they had to contribute!

✓ Throughout the day we between about 20 of us we attended 35 meetings with legislators and staff.

✓ Myself and a future ATCA Youth Leader from Nikiski also testified in support of SB133 in front of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. We engaged in dialogue that received positive feedback. They enjoyed hearing what was going on in local high schools!

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ATCA and Local Tobacco Prevention

✓ Keep up the good work that you have started here at the ATCA summit by engaging in local tobacco prevention.

✓ You can continue to stay involved in ATCA by calling into the conference calls and applying to come to ATCA summits!

✓ Here is a video created by the ATCA Leaders at last year’s summit in Juneau

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBPsPKNhI4E

✓ Start advocacy campaigns at your local schools too

– Kick Butts Day, The Great American American Smokeout, are great ways to gets started!

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In an effort to have a tobacco-free Alaska, RurAL CAP (Rural Alaska Community Action Program) coordinates a statewide youth advocacy coalition. This group of youth leaders

(12-18 years old) meet on a regular basis using teleconference and social media to develop their work around tobacco prevention and advocacy at the local level. The

coalition will also have the opportunity to plan and participate in two in-person trainings, including the youth track of the Alaska Tobacco Control Alliance annual

summit to help create a tobacco-free Alaska.

What We Do & What You Get

ATCA Youth have typically two in-person trainings per school year: One in Anchorage during Fall time and then later in the school year (Mid-Winter or Early Spring) at another city or town location.

We host monthly teleconferences to connect across the state, get pumped up and make plans--sometimes every couple of weeks if we are planning something.

You will gain leadership experiences with statewide tobacco free efforts and be empowered to make positive differences. You will also have the chance to meet and get to know teens across Alaska!

How Do I Get Involved?

Research has shown that youth engagement in tobacco control issues is incredibly powerful in changing social norms and preventing the start of tobacco use. Your voice is important and it matters.

Sound good or intriguing? Just e-mail me, Anna McGovern (Wellness Education Coordinator) at amcgovern@ruralcap.com to let me know you don’t mind getting my emails! Once you’re plugged in, you’ll get more information about teleconference times and call in numbers. Follow us on Facebook (search ATCA Youth Leaders), to join in for information, networking and sharing!

Other Organizations to get Involved

✓ I have researched and attended a number of trainings that have given examples on ways for teens to get involved in addition to ATCA Youth Leaders

– Student Council, Sports, Band, Student Representative on your local City Council or Tribal Board, Student Representative to other local boards (Chamber of Commerce, Hospital Boards, etc.), and Youth Court just to name a few.

– Other ways to get involved are through volunteer work. You can volunteer on Political Campaigns, at the Foodbank, and a Crisis Shelter, at a Dog Shelter, in Elementary Schools.

✓ If you have an interest in any particular area find a way to get involved! It will help you in the long run!

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Activity: Hook, Line, and Sinker

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Hook, Line, and Sinker:

How to Craft Your Message*

The Hook

Identify who you are. Consider sharing a few unique personal details

to underscore the fact that you or your group represent a broad

cross-section from the district.

Example:

● I am a 30-year-resident of ____

● I am a UAA graduate entering the workforce

● I am a constituent

● I am a business owner

The Line

Explain why you care about your issue. Consider how the issue affects you. Do you have a perspective on it

that is unique? Do you know facts about the issue that aren’t being discussed? Use these aspects to establish

your credentials to your audience.

Example:

● My son starting his first job at a restaurant this spring. His boss doesn’t allow smoking in the

restaurant, but I worry about all of the other young men and women who work for people without a

smoke-free policy.

● I worked for years in the service industry. I never smoked, but the customers around me did. Now

my doctor says that I’ll be at a higher risk of heart disease and cancer for the rest of my life because

others chose to smoke around me.

Sinker

Make a clear request. What you want your audience to do?

Example:

● I want you, as my elected representative, to support the smoke-free workplace bill and make sure it

gets through committee for a vote.

● I urge all Alaska legislators to support a statewide smoke-free workplace law and ensure it is passed

during this legislative session.

Now, put it all together:

“I’m a mother and a business owner who cares about my community. I can’t express enough how nice it is

to be able to breathe clean, smoke-free air in my town, thanks to our local smoke-free ordinance. But not

everyone in Alaska is that lucky, and I feel a responsibility to reach out and help people who live in

communities without a local smoke-free ordinance. Some communities are in boroughs that don’t even

have the power to pass a local ordinance. It’s time for all of us to pitch in and help the people who live in

these communities.

I want you, as my elected representative, to support the bill for a statewide smoke-free workplace law. It’s

time for a smoke-free Alaska.”

*Adapted from “The One­Hour Activist” by Christopher Kush, © 2004.

Review

❑ Senate Bill 63: The smoke-free indoor workplace act ❑ Makes Smoking in workplaces illegal

❑ Ways to get involved in the state legislature ❑ Write letters, attend town halls, testify at Legislative

Information Offices ❑ Ways to improve your leadership skills

❑ Apply to be a Senate Page, Student Council member, and get involved with local boards, organizations, and NGO’s

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Thank you! Questions?

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Share info. and up-dates to make a healthy difference

Gain leadership skills!

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